Wednesday, February 15th
Read Pencils, Erasers and Disqualifications Chapter
Answer the following questions on your page Use complete sentences
1. Describe Reynie Reynie is Curious, does what he is told and honest.
2. On page five, it states that Reynie looked for solitude and freedom from persecution. What does this mean? Use evidence from the text to support your answers. I think that it means he wanted time to himself and not be stressed.
3. Why would Reynie break his pencil in half for someone that he didn't even know? Maybe because he thought this was going to be a once in a life time oportunity and he didn't want someone to mis out on it just because they didn't have a pencil.
4. On page 17, it states that Reynie, "felt the weight of loneliness upon him." Why? What happened, use evidence to support your answers. This meant that he was different from other kids just when he took the test that asked if he like tv and whatnot.
5. Is cheating ever ok? How and why did Reynie resist the temptation? I think cheating is ok if you just have to get back on track and understand what you are actually doing. Reynie resisted cheating by taking the desk in front of the strange girl so he couldn't look over her shoulder and see the answers. Reynie did what he did because he thought his tutor would be upset if he told her that he cheated.
6. Why are rules made? Why are those so many rules in chapter one?I think because the company that is running the tests is just strict and doesn't want to waste time.
Due Friday, February 17th
Friday, February 17th
Read Buckets and Spectacles, Squares and Arrows and The Trouble with Children or, Why They are Necessary?
Answer the following questions on your page Use complete sentences
1. Reynie says he doesn't like television. Do you believe him? Why or why not? I believe Reynie because some kids just don't like television and I'm ok with that.
2. Why is it important for this team to work together? Because then they can share what they thought about the test and help each other out.
3. At the beginning of the chapter Rhonda doesn't seem upset at all - why? Because i think that she works for the company that made the tests.
4. Describe Kate and Sticky. Who do you think are the protagonist and antagonist of the story so far? Sticky is the kind of person who is shy yet willing to do something to help someone. Kate is adventurous and always prepared to help someone in trouble. i think the antagonists are the parents who tried to get the pencil woman when Kate saved her.i think that the protagonist in the story is Reynie because he is kind and nice.
1. What is the most important test the children passed in order to be selected? I think the most important test is the one where Rhonda asks them if they want the answers to the test and they turn them down. I think that is important because it is seeing if they are honest or not.
2. How are they tested? They aren't really being tested on school smarts they are getting tested on how you can find a way out of a problem and finding strange patterns.
3. Why doesn’t it seem to matter that all the children solve the problem in a different way? Because they are all still solving the problem.
4. What is narcolepsy? How does this affect Mr. Benedict? Narcolepsy is a sideaffect which causes you to fall asleep for a few minutes unaware when it will happen.
5, Where is Zambia? Find out two interesting facts about this place.
The capital of Zambia is Lusaka.
Zambia covers 752,614 sq km of land, slightly larger than the state of Texas.
6. Is Bembi a real language? Bembi is not a real language. Not on planet Earth anyway.
7. Why do you think Mr. Benedict wants this group of children for an important assignment? Because maybe if he sent adults they would get reconized.
8. What does the word " vexed" mean and how is it used in these two chapters? It means it is hard to do something.
Monday, February 20th
Read The Sender and The Messenger
Answer the following questions on your page
Use complete sentences
1.With so much in common, Kate, Reynie, Sticky, and Constance still have dissimilar traits. What are the traits they possess that bring them together? One thing they all have in common is that they all are doing the secret mission that Mr. Benidict has planed. Another thing that they have in common is that they are each special in there own way.
2. What causes discord among the team members? I think that when they just disagree or don't understand something and get stressed out.
3. What in their backgrounds and family life is similar? What is dissimilar? They all had family member losses because of deaths or they just left. They are all different because they all solved the tests a different way.
4. How do the likenesses play a role in their assignment? They are going o have to work together so having likenesses will be helpfull.
Wednesday, February 22nd
Read Codes and Histories, The Thing to Come and The Naming of the Crew
Due Tuesday, February 28th 1. Why do you think that Mr. Benedict is telling the children to pay attention to what the Institute doesn't teach? Because they might have secrets besides the messages. 2. What is Morse code? Who invented this communication system and what was it used for? The morse code is a messaging system that is a combination of dots and dashes and different patterns of the dots and dashes make different letters. Samuel Morse created the morse code and it was used for communication before people had phones. 3. Mr. Benedict on page 119 states, "Whether you always agree is inconsequential,..." What does this mean? How does this fit into the definition of a team? Well it kindof means that it really doesn't matter if they agree or not because they have to work together now so they have to act like a team. 4. When Sticky tells about his background, he says that philanthropists began sending his parents money, what are philanthropists? It also says that Sticky was astonished and mortified - about what? Philanthropists are people that give things to people that have just had a family member or great friend die or have something bad happen in there family. Astonished and mortified means to be amazed and outraged at something you didn't think was going to happen. 5. Constance had a breakthrough on page 124, describe this event. Well, Constance asked about Sticky's childhood and the story was really sad and Constance felt bad for him so in the morse code she showed with the flashlight "sorry". 6. Milligan has amnesia and wears disguises - why? Milligan had amnesia because he got a blow to the head when he was younger because he got kidnapped and then escaped which is why he wears disguises because then if he ever ran into the people that kidnapped him they wouldn't reconize him. 7. At the end of the chapter, Milligan couldn't look at the children - why? He didn't look at the children because he was sad about his memory being gone and the mission that they were taking. 8. What is the "unintended consequence" mentioned on page 135? The unintended consequence is the horrible thing that the sender has been waiting to release. 9. Describe the Sender. I think that the sender is a mean person who obiously does not care about what happens to other people and is trying to pull something really big off. 10. Why was Reynie doubting his trust for Mr. Benedict? Because he thinks that it is weird that Mr. Benedict picked Constance for the team. 11. What does the word "forged" mean on page 136? The book read " signatures to be forged" That means that somebdy is going to wright a signature that isn't there's they are trying to wright somebody elses signature. 12. Again, why do you think that Constance is an important part of the team? Your answer should reflect change from the last time we discussed this. I think she is apart of the team because i think she will have to ask and answer questions the others won't ask. 13. Why is Mr. Benedict commonly found on the floor? Because he has a sleep disorder which causes him to fall asleep when he is to much of one emotion. 14. How could Constance we the key to the team's success? Because she can think of wierd questions and answers and think of something strange unlike the others. 15. On page 143, why is Reynie thanking Mr. Benedict? I think he is thanking him for the wonderful expierience that Reynie has had so far. 16. What is The Mysterious Benedict Society? It is tha name of the team with Reynie, Constance, Sticky, and Kate.
Tuesday, February 28th
Read Nomansan Island and Traps and Nonsense
Due Thursday, March 1st Normansan Island
1. How are you enjoying this book so far? What questions do you currently have about this book that you think will be answered as we continue with the book? I think that this book is good because it has a constant mystery going on in it because you never really know what they are going to do next and if i were to rate this book from 1-10 i would choose 7. I'm am still not for sure why constance is on the team And i'm also wondering about Milligan's past and I wonder if he will ever regain his memory?
2. Who are the executives and what is their job? What's the difference between a messenger and an executive? The executives are like dorm advisors there and their job is to keep everyone out of trouble and get them to where they need to go. A Messenger is one of the students who is the top in there class and a executives are the people who are like dorm advisors.
3. Describe Jackson and Jillson. What do you think their role is in this book? I kindof think of Jayson and Jillson as Severus Snape's brother and sister from Harry Potter and the deathly hallows part 2 movie just not as mean and strict. There role's in this book are like being dorm advisors from the Harry Potter series, like Percy Weasley because they take the students places and tell them where to go and what to do.
4. On page 160 it states that Kate was, "trying to prove she didn't need anyone's help and this was easiest to believe when she was doing what she was good at." What do you think this means? Well, since Kate's Dad left her when she was young, she had to do everything she did on her own so she probably just thought why do something when your not good at it, so now she just does stuff shes good at.
5. The end of the chapter ends with a cliff-hanger. What is a cliff-hanger and why it important? A cliff hanger is when the Author just finishes the chapter with something sudden and doesn't give a lot of information about it and it just leaves you hanging there wondering what is going to happen next.
Traps and Nonsense
6. Why do you think there was a trap disguised with a plant on top? Do you think this will be important later in the book? What is that called when an author gives you clues as to what is going to occur further into the book? I think the trap was disguised as a plant so then if anybody went looking for something that was off limits over there they would fall in the trap. I think this will be important later in the book because I think that someone will eventually fall in it the entire way down.
7. Who are the helpers? I think of the helpers pretty much as slaves because I think it was Jackson was saying that you can make fun of them and they can't even do anything about it. But in other words the helpers are basicly the janitors because they claen up after everyone and do there dirty work.
8. On page 166, the phrase "Whatever floats your boat," is an idiom. What is an idiom and what does this phrase mean? A idiom is
an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements. The phrase " what ever floats your boat" means what ever makes you happy just do it.
9. What do you think about the Institute having no rules? How is this statement contradicted? Well saying the Institute has no rules is a lie because it did have actually several rules that Reynie pointed out.
10. What is a free market? Why do they have to memorize a chant about the free market? The free market is probably the name of a code that the messengers have to send through the televisions and radios. They have to memorize this because when they say the code through the televisions and whatnot they probably want to make it flawless.
Vocabulary Words for you to look up:
fate and diminutive size from page 152
Fate:something that unavoidably befalls a person.
Diminutive:small; little; tiny
ardous from page 164
Adorus: NO DEFINITION
Thursday, March 1st
Read Beware the Gemini
Due Monday, March 5th
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have put part of each question into each answer.
1. On page 174 it states that the new kids always felt "conspicuous," what does this word mean? I think that the word conspicuous means that they are nervous.
2. What are the "recruiters" and "Institute scouts" that they are referring to? The institute scouts and recruiters are the unexpected new arrivals.
3. What clues are mentioned in the book that might suggest that the new arrivals might have been kidnapped? Use text evidence in your answer. Reynie saw the new kids looking sleepy and tired as though they might have had a long day which he thought must of meant they were kidnapped.
4. Describe Mr. Curtain. Mr. Curtain is like the total opposite of Mr. Benedict because Mr. Curtain isn't nice and respectfull like Mr. Benedict. Mr. Curtain also seems mysterious because he is running a wierd institute that doesn't make any sense.
5. Could Mr. Curtain and Mr. Benedict be the same person? No,because Reynie said that Mr. Benedict has a long lost brother.
6. Why would everything be backwards at the institute? What might their reasons for this be? Maybe if Mr. Benedict really does have a long lost brother and there complete opposites that they would run totaly different institutes.
7. What does the word "sasquatch" mean that is mentioned on page 179? The way that they used the word sasquatch in the book was describing a man with gigantic feet because the word the sasquatch is pretty much the same a bigfoot.
8. What is a cryptic message and why would this be important? A cryptic message is a message that is secretive, like a riddle. It would be important to send a cryptic message because they don't want anyone else who is on the island to understand it but them.
9. On page 184 it states, "As is always the case with a society, some arguing remained to be done." Is this true and why might this be important to all societies? I say that it is true and I think that it is important to all societys because some societys argue but they still have to agree on a dissision.
10. What is "gemini" and why is this word important to this chapter? A gemini is a type on constillation or twins and it would be important to this chapter because they think that Mr. Curtain and Mr. Benedict are twins.
Monday, March 5th
Read Lessons Learned and People and Places to be Avoided
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have put part of each question into each answer.
Due Wednesday, March 7th
1. Why do you think that no mirrors can be found at the Institute? I think that the reason they don't have mirrors at the institute is because I think that if a kid who was brainwashed saw himself in a mirror that he would regain his memory of how he got there and where he was.
2. Find the idiom on page 188 and explain what it means. The idiom is a way of doing things normaly like a everyday routine, the idiom is how they do things in class everyday. EXAMPLE: Sombody groans and asks for no homework everyday.
3. What do you think of the statement, found on page 189, "Because it was impossible, in the end, to protect yourself from anything - no matter how hard you tried - it was important to try as hard as you could to protect yourself from everything." What does it mean in the story and what does it mean in life? In the book I think that it means that even if you fail at your assignment that you shoun't fail at protecting yourself anyway. In real life I think that it means that if you fail at one thing it menas you will succeed at the next thing but no matter what you shouldn't stop protecting your self.
4. Why would SQ say she was "astounded or astonished" when Sticky and Reynie had received perfect scores? Why would this upset Martina? She would be amazed by there scores because probably not to many people get perfect scores. This could upset Martina because it would make her jealous because she doesn't have perfect scores.
5. What lessons had the kids learned in this chapter? What would this chapter be named, "Lessons Learned?" They learned that it is apparentley not good to wait in the waiting room for Mr. Curtain's office.
6. The Helpers "averted" their eyes and had a "constant show of deference," why and what does this mean? I think that it means that they are very shy and that they don't like looking people in the eye.
7. Why do you think that Mr. Curtain often was looking toward the bridge and off into the distance? Maybe when Mr. Curtain was looking of into the distance he was thinking of what his life could have possibly been like when he was a kid and thinking is he ever had siblings.
8. On page 201 it says that the corridor erupted into a "cacophony," what does this mean? When it says that the corridor erupted into cacophony it means that they started talking the second after the boy exited the room.
9. Why wouldn't the students want to go to the Waiting Room? Use text evidence to support your answer. I think that the students wouldn't want to go in a waiting room because maybe because they have to do things in there that they don't want to do but they are forced to do.
Wednesday, March 7th
Read Logical Conclusions and Miscalculations and Poison Apples/Poison Worms and A Surprising Suggestion
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Friday, March 9th
1. What does the simile "his eyelids felt heavy as anvils" mean? The simile means that he was very tired because when your eyelids are drooping it usually means that you are tired.
2. On page 210, Jackson stated, "You can say whatever you like when you have permission, right now no one has permission." What is he referring to? Jackson is refering to that no one can talk right now because no one has permission.
3. On page 211, Sticky could feel the "malice," what does this mean? I think the saying " Sticky could feel the malice" means that he could feel the pressure on him.
4. Why is this chapter called Logical Conclusions and Miscalculations? I think it is called that because Kate and Constance were failing on there tests and they needed to get better grades so they could become messengers quicker.
5. How does fruit fit in with the discussion of taxes, war, health, the justice system.....? I think of it like a apple being the citizens and when the government becomes bad and it's not liked anymore it makes the fruit go bad.
6. The symbol poison apples, poison worms refers to what? I think the symbol poison apples, poison worms is referring to how the mysterious benedict society thought that Martina could have poisoned them the first time that there heads were hurting.
7. Reynie looked at the literal meaning of being poisoned, was he wrong? Explain your reasoning. No, because I think that it would be possible for Martina to poison them.
8. On page 216, it states that, "Most of us will simple feel irritable and confused." Have you heard this before? Where and what were they referring to? I have never heard this before besides in the book. I think that they are referring to that a lot of them will be confused and not really understand what is going on.
9. Mr. Benedict told the children that their love for the truth will protect them, what does this mean? It means that there honesty will protect them ,which I think that they will get in trouble and then they will tell the truth and they won't get in trouble for what they did.
10. Why can Constance hear the Messenger's voice? I think that only Constance can hear the voice right now because she is more open minded then the others.
11. Explain the response the children got from the mainland on page 219. Well, they mentioned that they didn't have much time which meant they had to get a move on. It also mentioned that they had to get the info that they needed. and that they had to become what they were not ( cheaters ).
12. Why is it so important that the children become Messengers as quickly as possible? Because then they could find out more info about the messages.
13. What does the word "evasively" mean at the bottom of page 222?I think that the word evasively means anger.
14. Why couldn't Charlie explain about the special privileges? I think he couldn't explain about the special prevlidges because I think that they could have brainwashed him.
Friday, March 9th
Read Tests and Invitations and Everything as it Should Be
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Monday, March 12th
1. Why was Reynie jealous? Reynie was jealous because a different that wasn't him got to become a messenger.
2. On page 236, it says that Mr. Curtain rolled his chair almost "imperceptibly", what does this mean? I think that when it says that he rolled his chair almost imperceptibly means that he was rolling his chair almost sucpiciously.
3. "If you don't trust them, keep them close." What does this mean and why would Reynie say this statement? I kind of thinking of it like a criminal being watched by a cop, because the cop doesn't trust the criminal he has to keep him close.
4. What is a sense of "deja vu?" (page 238) Deja vu is when you have done something in the past and then in the present you do the same sort of thing and you say "talk about deja vu".
5. "Control is always the key." What is this supposed to mean? When Mr. Curtain says this he means that you have to have power and that is the key.
Monday, March 12th
Read Of Families Lost and Found and Tactical Caciupi
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Wednesday, March 14th
1. Why is this chapter called Of Families Lost and Found? This chapter was called that becauseReynie was wishing he had a family because he never had one but realized that all of the friends around him were his family.
2. On page 254, it states, "What has been lost may yet be found, Have hope." What does this message from the mainland mean? I think that the message from the mainland means that even if the information that they needed was harder to find that they should still have hope.
3. Respond to Reynie's idea of what a family might be all about, "I have no experience, but well, is this what family is like? The feeling that everyone's connected, that with one piece missing the whole thing's broken?" I think that Reynie's statement basically means that as a family you are one combined whole but there is a tiny part of that whole missing which creates some mysteries between the family.
4. On page 257, it, "family is often born of blood, but it doesn't depend on blood." What does this mean? I think that it means that family is often born with luck but then they don't depend on luck all of the time.
5. What was the cliff hanger in the chapter Of Families Lost and Found? The cliffhanger in this chapter is that Reynie realizes that even though he didn't have a family that he still had his friends.
6. Why do you think that family is such an important theme that is woven in and out of almost each chapter? I think that because family is very important in life and i think that the author found it important to mention it a lot in the book.
8. Why would Mr. Curtain say that one of his biggest accomplishments would be the invention of his tidal turbines? Explain what these are and how might they be used on the island.
9. What was Kate using her spy glass/kaleidoscope for? So that they could look at Mr. Curtain's journal from far away.
10. Knowing Sticky's talents, what do you think he is being used for when it comes to the journal? I think that he is using his memory the best because he has to remember everything that he saw.
11. On page 267, the first entry is read and one part states, "There is no such thing as perfect control. I have come to understand, however, that the illusion of perfect control can amount to the same thing." What does this mean and what implications might this have on the story? I think that this means no matter how hard that you try you will never have complete control but you could convince people that you do..
12. How can you have an illusion of control? You could hypmetize them into thinking what ever you tell them.
13. Explain "brainsweeping." Brainsweeping is when you talk to a person and you confuse them so much that they belive a totally different thing is going on.
14. Why aren't the special recruits every scared? Because only a certain part of memory was brainswept.
15. What do you think the "improvement" is that they are talking about on page 270? I think that teh improvment is when Mr. Curtain will send the messages into peoples heads without needing tv and radios.
16. What do you think his message on page 272 means? I think that it is a message talking about that you should trust Mr. Curtain and follow his orders.
Wednesday, March 14th
Read Caught in the Act and The Waiting Room
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Friday, March 16th
1. Why is this chapter called, "Caught in the Act?" This chapter is called caught in the act because Sticky gets caught when he is taping the answers in morse code on his ear.
2. On page 277 it says, "precipice." What does this mean and how is it used in the sentence? A precipice a cliff with a vertical, nearly vertical, or over
hanging face. A precipice is alsoa situation of great peril :on the precipice of war.
3. Why were Reynie, Kate and Constance trying to climb the wall? They were trying to climb the wall because they wanted to see what the executives were doing in the gym.
4. Again, it mentions the "improvement." Any clues as to what this might be? I think that the improvment is what Mr. Curtain is planning to do with the turbines which is how he will send out the messages.
5. On page 282, the word "ominous" is used. What does this word mean and how is it used in the sentence? The word ominous means portendinge vilorharm; foreboding; threatening; inauspicious.
6. Describe Sticky as he came out of the Waiting Room. He was very shocked and it seemed that he still had to get through his head what had just happened.
7. Why wouldn't Sticky talk after he came out? I think Sticky didn't talk when he came out because he was still kindof in shock and remembering what the waiting room was like.
8. List the main characters and what they have to offer to a "team." Why might this be important to the rest of the book? One of the main characters in this book is Reynie. Reynie is the one on the team who figures out what they should do in tough situations which is helpful because the team allways gets into tough situations and needs a way to get ou of it. Stick is another main character. Sticky is helpful to the team because he is the smart one who remembers everything that the team needs to remember. Kate is the adventourous and one that goes all out and this is important because the other members on the team aren't as adventourous as them. Constance is important to the team because she is the one who has sas and is the one who talks back to someone when they are ina tough situation.
(Reynie, Constance, Kate and Sticky)
9. What was the main idea for this chapter? Give two supporting details. I think that the main idea of this chapter was how Sticky got out of the waiting room. I think that this is the main idea because the name of the chapter is The Waiting Room
Friday, March 16th
Read Punishments and Promotions and Half a Riddle
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Monday, March 19th
1. What was the dilemma that Sticky was facing with Mr. Curtain? What would you have done? I think that the dilemma is that Mr. Curtain could be kindof suspicous about the Mysterious benedict society. I would have done the same thing thjat Sticky did.
2. State Mr. Curtain's view on the idea of "control." I think that Mr. Curtain's idea of control means like taking over the world.
3. Why do you think that Sticky got off the hook for cheating and Reynie got off the hook for lying? I think they got off the hook because Mr. Curtain decided that he would make them messengers.
4, On page 304 it states that Martina's face, "shone with malevolence," what does this mean and how does that apply to this sentence? I think that the word malevolence means pride and self confidence.
5. Why would Martina be promoted to Executive? Give reasons and your thinking as to why. I think that she was promoted because Mr. Curtain knew that she didn't cheat and that it was her time to become one.
6. What does it mean when Mr. Curtain says that the "best way of dealing with those you don't trust is to keep them close." Reynie said this and now so has Mr. Curtain - what do you think this means for the both of them? I think that this means that they think alike.
7. Why did Mr. Curtain make Sticky and Reynie messengers? I think he made them messengers because he thought they had enough guts and knoledge to become one.
8. The coded message read:
With open eyes now you may find
A place you must exit to enter.
Where one ----
What do you think this message might mean? Give reasons for your thinking. I think that the message means that they will be in one place and leave it when they are entering a different place. I think this because it says that you must exit to enter.
Monday, March 19th
Read The Whisperer and Open Sesame
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Wednesday, March 21st
1. At the beginning of the chapter, Reynie has a dream. What do you think the dream means? I think that the dream Reyine had could have been predicting the future because it would seem that he would get sent to the waiting room and get in trouble because he is allways snooping around and doing something suspicous.
2. On page 314, it states that Reynie and Sticky shook hands "resolutely," what does this mean and how does it fit into the sentence? I think that the word resolutley means proudly and boldly because the way it was used in the sentence, I kind of thought it could have been replaced with proudly and boldly and still mean the same thing.
3. On page 315, Jackson refers to Sticky or George as "dimwitted," what does this mean and how does it fit into the sentence? The word dimwitted means stupid and annoying and if it was said to you it would be a insult.
4. Why couldn't the boys know the way to the Whispering Gallery? They couldn't know the way to the Whispering Gallery because Mr. Curtain probably didn't want the students to know the way and wanted to keep it a secret. I think what he is keeping from them is the room with all of the power that controls the whisperer.
5. Describe the Whispering Gallery. The whispering gallery is a empty room with 2 cusions on the floor and a wooden chair with 2 helmets attached to it in the middle.
6. On page 317, it states that the Whispering Gallery is so "austere," what does this mean? I think that the word austere means empty.
7. Again the idea of control comes up over and over, why? I think it came up again because control is such a big part of the story. I think that control is such a big part of the story because Mr. Curtain is trying to control everybpdy by mind.
8. Describe what The Whispering can do and not do. The whisperer can read your mind and hear what you are thinking. The whisperer can also ask you things and tell you things through your mind. What the whisperer can not do is
9. On page 319, when Renyie states that, "They go down easier, like candy rather than medicine." What is he talking about? Reynie is talking about how candy tastes better and it tastes better then medicine so the statement "they go down easier, like candy rather than medicine" makes sense.
10. On page 319 it refers to "inputting data," what is this? The inputting data is the data of what is going on inside the childrens minds.
11. On page 321, it states, "poison apples, poison worms," again - now what is this referring to? Why is this phrase repeated throughout the book? I think that it is refring to all of the negative things that go on on the island. I think this statement is repeated throughout the book becausethe island is full of negative things.
12. On the last page of The Whisperer" it ends with Sticky saying, "Not being wanted, not being wanted at all," what was the question? The question that the whisperer had asked him was what did he fear most.
13. Why didn't Reynie want to sit and eat with the rest of the messengers? What excuse did he give the messenger? I think that he dudn't want to sit with them because he just wanted to sit with his friends and talk about what different info that they each have. The excuse that Reynie told the other messenger was that he was very sick which must have grossed the other messenger out.
14. On page 333, when Constance says that Reynie is "on," what does this mean? I think that constance means that he is on top of things.
15. How do we know that Mr. Curtain will be done with the Messengers after "the Improvement?" We know that he will be done with the messengers after the improvment because he told Reynie himself.
16. What are the clues about the trap? The clues about the trap are that Mr. Curtain was coming down the hallway and they had no where to hide so they had to enter the room which they thought was going to be a trap.
17. How did the kids figure out the code? They flipped the piece of paper upside down and read one of the bolded words and when it was upside down the word was 4 different numbers and those 4 numbers were the code.
Wednesday, March 21st
Read Practice Makes Perfect and Know Thine Enemy
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Friday, March 23rd
1. Why is this chapter called "Practice Makes Perfect?" This chapter is called practice makes perfect because Mr. Curtain was practicing brainwashing people at the institute before he brainwashes the world.
2. Why would the government press releases be dated for the future? The press releases would are dated for the future because Mr. Curtain thinks that in the future that will eb what will happen and he is getting ready for it.
3. What does the article and page 346/347 mean? The article is what Mr. Curtain thinks will happen in the future and has the newspapers for that day allready printed.
4. Why would Mr. Curtain want to create fear in everyone? Mr. Curtain would want to put fear in everyone because then he can sooth there fears and then everyone will love him.
5. Why would Mr. Curtain want to put together an Amnesia Sanctuary? Mr. Curtain would put together a amnesia sanctuary because in the future he thinks that he will have allready brainwashed everybody so he is preparing by building a amnesia sanctuary.
6. Why is this chapter called, "Know Thine Enemy?" This chapter is called know thine enemy because of the message that Mr. Benedict sent the kids. The message meant know who your enemy's are and who they aren't. This makes sense because Milligan was on the bridge at the institute at night time and the kids saw him and the message that Mr. Benedict sent realtes to this because they didn't want them thinking that Milligan was a bad guy he was just himself in disguise.
7. What is the "memory terminal?" The memory terminal is where Mr. Curtain has the people go who have been brainwashed to like him or have had messages in there heads saying that they like him.
8. On page 353, Reynie states, "But we are too late! Much, much too late," what is he referring to? Reynie is refering to that they didn't find the info they needed fast enough so he is saying "But we are too late! Much, much too late,".
9. Who was the "recruiter" staring up at the window at night? The person who was staring at the team's window wasn't actually a recruiter, he was Milligan.
10. Why would he send the message to hurry? Mr. Benedict would send a message to hurry because he knew that the improvment was close and they needed to find out more info about it.
11. Why was Milligan on the island? Milligan was on the island to tell the kids that Mr. Benedict wanted them to get off of the island and go somewhere safe.
12. Why wouldn't the kids follow Milligan? The kids wouldn't follow Milligan because they felt that there job wasn't complete yet and that they had to save the helpers and brainwashed people.
13. What was the message that Mr. Benedict sent with Milligan to give to the kids? The messege was " Every single one of you is essential to the succes of the team -- that now more than ever, you must rely upon one another in all things".
Friday, March 23rd
Read A Chess Lesson and The Mouse in the Culvert
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Monday, March 26th
1. What is Reynie's plan that he refers to on page 364? Reynie's plan was to disable the whisperer.
2. Why was Reynie so afraid of "betraying?"Reynie is afraid of betraying because if he lost his friends he wouldn't have anybody to be there for him and his friends are his family.
3. Why was Reynie doubting himself? Reynie was doubting himself because he didn't think he was good enough to be the leader for the mysterious Benedict society because he couldn't think of what to do next
4. Why was Reynie sending Mr. Benedict a message? He was sending Mr. Benedict a message because he didn't know what to do next and he wanted some advice.
5. What was the message that Mr. Benedict sent back? The message that Mr. Benedict sent was " remember the white knight".
6. What did the message mean? The message was refering to the tests before the institute when it asked if the position on the chess board was possible and Reynie said yes because the knight could have moved out and then back in. So when Mr. Benedict sent the message he was saying that u should back track and start over just like the knight did in the chess game.
7. How did Kate get into the elevator? Kate got into the elevator by slingshooting a marble attracting Jackson's attention so she could run to the elevator and get in.
8. Why didn't she want to push any of the buttons in the elevator? Kate didn't want to push any buttons in the elevator because if she did the elevator would move and then Jackson would know she was there.
9. How does Mr. Curtain deal with the subject of fear? He says that the whisperer doesn't cure a person's fear it just puts them away and hides them for a while.
10. What is Martina's job? Martina's job is to work in the room with hair dryers.
11. How did Mr. Curtain make sure no one was in the culvert? He dumped some hot water down the drain.
12. What did Kate see in the water that had deceived her? What Kate saw in the water was a rock that looked like a shark fin which decived her because she was wrong and she didn't have to worry.
Read Pencils, Erasers and Disqualifications Chapter
Answer the following questions on your page Use complete sentences
1. Describe Reynie Reynie is Curious, does what he is told and honest.
2. On page five, it states that Reynie looked for solitude and freedom from persecution. What does this mean? Use evidence from the text to support your answers. I think that it means he wanted time to himself and not be stressed.
3. Why would Reynie break his pencil in half for someone that he didn't even know? Maybe because he thought this was going to be a once in a life time oportunity and he didn't want someone to mis out on it just because they didn't have a pencil.
4. On page 17, it states that Reynie, "felt the weight of loneliness upon him." Why? What happened, use evidence to support your answers. This meant that he was different from other kids just when he took the test that asked if he like tv and whatnot.
5. Is cheating ever ok? How and why did Reynie resist the temptation? I think cheating is ok if you just have to get back on track and understand what you are actually doing. Reynie resisted cheating by taking the desk in front of the strange girl so he couldn't look over her shoulder and see the answers. Reynie did what he did because he thought his tutor would be upset if he told her that he cheated.
6. Why are rules made? Why are those so many rules in chapter one? I think because the company that is running the tests is just strict and doesn't want to waste time.
Due Friday, February 17th
Friday, February 17th
Read Buckets and Spectacles, Squares and Arrows and The Trouble with Children or, Why They are Necessary?
Answer the following questions on your page Use complete sentences
1. Reynie says he doesn't like television. Do you believe him? Why or why not? I believe Reynie because some kids just don't like television and I'm ok with that.
2. Why is it important for this team to work together? Because then they can share what they thought about the test and help each other out.
3. At the beginning of the chapter Rhonda doesn't seem upset at all - why? Because i think that she works for the company that made the tests.
4. Describe Kate and Sticky. Who do you think are the protagonist and antagonist of the story so far? Sticky is the kind of person who is shy yet willing to do something to help someone. Kate is adventurous and always prepared to help someone in trouble. i think the antagonists are the parents who tried to get the pencil woman when Kate saved her.i think that the protagonist in the story is Reynie because he is kind and nice.
1. What is the most important test the children passed in order to be selected? I think the most important test is the one where Rhonda asks them if they want the answers to the test and they turn them down. I think that is important because it is seeing if they are honest or not.
2. How are they tested? They aren't really being tested on school smarts they are getting tested on how you can find a way out of a problem and finding strange patterns.
3. Why doesn’t it seem to matter that all the children solve the problem in a different way? Because they are all still solving the problem.
4. What is narcolepsy? How does this affect Mr. Benedict? Narcolepsy is a sideaffect which causes you to fall asleep for a few minutes unaware when it will happen.
5, Where is Zambia? Find out two interesting facts about this place.
The capital of Zambia is Lusaka.
Zambia covers 752,614 sq km of land, slightly larger than the state of Texas.
6. Is Bembi a real language? Bembi is not a real language. Not on planet Earth anyway.
7. Why do you think Mr. Benedict wants this group of children for an important assignment? Because maybe if he sent adults they would get reconized.
8. What does the word " vexed" mean and how is it used in these two chapters? It means it is hard to do something.
Monday, February 20th
Read The Sender and The MessengerAnswer the following questions on your page
Use complete sentences
1.With so much in common, Kate, Reynie, Sticky, and Constance still have dissimilar traits. What are the traits they possess that bring them together? One thing they all have in common is that they all are doing the secret mission that Mr. Benidict has planed. Another thing that they have in common is that they are each special in there own way.
2. What causes discord among the team members? I think that when they just disagree or don't understand something and get stressed out.
3. What in their backgrounds and family life is similar? What is dissimilar? They all had family member losses because of deaths or they just left. They are all different because they all solved the tests a different way.
4. How do the likenesses play a role in their assignment? They are going o have to work together so having likenesses will be helpfull.
Wednesday, February 22nd
Read Codes and Histories, The Thing to Come and The Naming of the Crew
Due Tuesday, February 28th1. Why do you think that Mr. Benedict is telling the children to pay attention to what the Institute doesn't teach? Because they might have secrets besides the messages.
2. What is Morse code? Who invented this communication system and what was it used for? The morse code is a messaging system that is a combination of dots and dashes and different patterns of the dots and dashes make different letters. Samuel Morse created the morse code and it was used for communication before people had phones.
3. Mr. Benedict on page 119 states, "Whether you always agree is inconsequential,..." What does this mean? How does this fit into the definition of a team? Well it kindof means that it really doesn't matter if they agree or not because they have to work together now so they have to act like a team.
4. When Sticky tells about his background, he says that philanthropists began sending his parents money, what are philanthropists? It also says that Sticky was astonished and mortified - about what? Philanthropists are people that give things to people that have just had a family member or great friend die or have something bad happen in there family. Astonished and mortified means to be amazed and outraged at something you didn't think was going to happen.
5. Constance had a breakthrough on page 124, describe this event. Well, Constance asked about Sticky's childhood and the story was really sad and Constance felt bad for him so in the morse code she showed with the flashlight "sorry".
6. Milligan has amnesia and wears disguises - why? Milligan had amnesia because he got a blow to the head when he was younger because he got kidnapped and then escaped which is why he wears disguises because then if he ever ran into the people that kidnapped him they wouldn't reconize him.
7. At the end of the chapter, Milligan couldn't look at the children - why? He didn't look at the children because he was sad about his memory being gone and the mission that they were taking.
8. What is the "unintended consequence" mentioned on page 135? The unintended consequence is the horrible thing that the sender has been waiting to release.
9. Describe the Sender. I think that the sender is a mean person who obiously does not care about what happens to other people and is trying to pull something really big off.
10. Why was Reynie doubting his trust for Mr. Benedict? Because he thinks that it is weird that Mr. Benedict picked Constance for the team.
11. What does the word "forged" mean on page 136? The book read " signatures to be forged" That means that somebdy is going to wright a signature that isn't there's they are trying to wright somebody elses signature.
12. Again, why do you think that Constance is an important part of the team? Your answer should reflect change from the last time we discussed this. I think she is apart of the team because i think she will have to ask and answer questions the others won't ask.
13. Why is Mr. Benedict commonly found on the floor? Because he has a sleep disorder which causes him to fall asleep when he is to much of one emotion.
14. How could Constance we the key to the team's success? Because she can think of wierd questions and answers and think of something strange unlike the others.
15. On page 143, why is Reynie thanking Mr. Benedict? I think he is thanking him for the wonderful expierience that Reynie has had so far.
16. What is The Mysterious Benedict Society? It is tha name of the team with Reynie, Constance, Sticky, and Kate.
Tuesday, February 28th
Read Nomansan Island and Traps and Nonsense
Due Thursday, March 1st Normansan Island
1. How are you enjoying this book so far? What questions do you currently have about this book that you think will be answered as we continue with the book? I think that this book is good because it has a constant mystery going on in it because you never really know what they are going to do next and if i were to rate this book from 1-10 i would choose 7. I'm am still not for sure why constance is on the team And i'm also wondering about Milligan's past and I wonder if he will ever regain his memory?
2. Who are the executives and what is their job? What's the difference between a messenger and an executive? The executives are like dorm advisors there and their job is to keep everyone out of trouble and get them to where they need to go. A Messenger is one of the students who is the top in there class and a executives are the people who are like dorm advisors.
3. Describe Jackson and Jillson. What do you think their role is in this book? I kindof think of Jayson and Jillson as Severus Snape's brother and sister from Harry Potter and the deathly hallows part 2 movie just not as mean and strict. There role's in this book are like being dorm advisors from the Harry Potter series, like Percy Weasley because they take the students places and tell them where to go and what to do.
4. On page 160 it states that Kate was, "trying to prove she didn't need anyone's help and this was easiest to believe when she was doing what she was good at." What do you think this means? Well, since Kate's Dad left her when she was young, she had to do everything she did on her own so she probably just thought why do something when your not good at it, so now she just does stuff shes good at.
5. The end of the chapter ends with a cliff-hanger. What is a cliff-hanger and why it important? A cliff hanger is when the Author just finishes the chapter with something sudden and doesn't give a lot of information about it and it just leaves you hanging there wondering what is going to happen next.
Traps and Nonsense
6. Why do you think there was a trap disguised with a plant on top? Do you think this will be important later in the book? What is that called when an author gives you clues as to what is going to occur further into the book? I think the trap was disguised as a plant so then if anybody went looking for something that was off limits over there they would fall in the trap. I think this will be important later in the book because I think that someone will eventually fall in it the entire way down.
7. Who are the helpers? I think of the helpers pretty much as slaves because I think it was Jackson was saying that you can make fun of them and they can't even do anything about it. But in other words the helpers are basicly the janitors because they claen up after everyone and do there dirty work.
8. On page 166, the phrase "Whatever floats your boat," is an idiom. What is an idiom and what does this phrase mean? A idiom is
an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements. The phrase " what ever floats your boat" means what ever makes you happy just do it.
9. What do you think about the Institute having no rules? How is this statement contradicted? Well saying the Institute has no rules is a lie because it did have actually several rules that Reynie pointed out.
10. What is a free market? Why do they have to memorize a chant about the free market? The free market is probably the name of a code that the messengers have to send through the televisions and radios. They have to memorize this because when they say the code through the televisions and whatnot they probably want to make it flawless.
Vocabulary Words for you to look up:
fate and diminutive size from page 152
Fate:something that unavoidably befalls a person.
Diminutive:small; little; tiny
ardous from page 164
Adorus: NO DEFINITION
Thursday, March 1st
Read Beware the Gemini
Due Monday, March 5th
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have put part of each question into each answer.
1. On page 174 it states that the new kids always felt "conspicuous," what does this word mean? I think that the word conspicuous means that they are nervous.
2. What are the "recruiters" and "Institute scouts" that they are referring to? The institute scouts and recruiters are the unexpected new arrivals.
3. What clues are mentioned in the book that might suggest that the new arrivals might have been kidnapped? Use text evidence in your answer. Reynie saw the new kids looking sleepy and tired as though they might have had a long day which he thought must of meant they were kidnapped.
4. Describe Mr. Curtain. Mr. Curtain is like the total opposite of Mr. Benedict because Mr. Curtain isn't nice and respectfull like Mr. Benedict. Mr. Curtain also seems mysterious because he is running a wierd institute that doesn't make any sense.
5. Could Mr. Curtain and Mr. Benedict be the same person? No,because Reynie said that Mr. Benedict has a long lost brother.
6. Why would everything be backwards at the institute? What might their reasons for this be? Maybe if Mr. Benedict really does have a long lost brother and there complete opposites that they would run totaly different institutes.
7. What does the word "sasquatch" mean that is mentioned on page 179? The way that they used the word sasquatch in the book was describing a man with gigantic feet because the word the sasquatch is pretty much the same a bigfoot.
8. What is a cryptic message and why would this be important? A cryptic message is a message that is secretive, like a riddle. It would be important to send a cryptic message because they don't want anyone else who is on the island to understand it but them.
9. On page 184 it states, "As is always the case with a society, some arguing remained to be done." Is this true and why might this be important to all societies? I say that it is true and I think that it is important to all societys because some societys argue but they still have to agree on a dissision.
10. What is "gemini" and why is this word important to this chapter? A gemini is a type on constillation or twins and it would be important to this chapter because they think that Mr. Curtain and Mr. Benedict are twins.
Monday, March 5th
Read Lessons Learned and People and Places to be Avoided
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have put part of each question into each answer.
Due Wednesday, March 7th1. Why do you think that no mirrors can be found at the Institute? I think that the reason they don't have mirrors at the institute is because I think that if a kid who was brainwashed saw himself in a mirror that he would regain his memory of how he got there and where he was.
2. Find the idiom on page 188 and explain what it means. The idiom is a way of doing things normaly like a everyday routine, the idiom is how they do things in class everyday. EXAMPLE: Sombody groans and asks for no homework everyday.
3. What do you think of the statement, found on page 189, "Because it was impossible, in the end, to protect yourself from anything - no matter how hard you tried - it was important to try as hard as you could to protect yourself from everything." What does it mean in the story and what does it mean in life? In the book I think that it means that even if you fail at your assignment that you shoun't fail at protecting yourself anyway. In real life I think that it means that if you fail at one thing it menas you will succeed at the next thing but no matter what you shouldn't stop protecting your self.
4. Why would SQ say she was "astounded or astonished" when Sticky and Reynie had received perfect scores? Why would this upset Martina? She would be amazed by there scores because probably not to many people get perfect scores. This could upset Martina because it would make her jealous because she doesn't have perfect scores.
5. What lessons had the kids learned in this chapter? What would this chapter be named, "Lessons Learned?" They learned that it is apparentley not good to wait in the waiting room for Mr. Curtain's office.
6. The Helpers "averted" their eyes and had a "constant show of deference," why and what does this mean? I think that it means that they are very shy and that they don't like looking people in the eye.
7. Why do you think that Mr. Curtain often was looking toward the bridge and off into the distance? Maybe when Mr. Curtain was looking of into the distance he was thinking of what his life could have possibly been like when he was a kid and thinking is he ever had siblings.
8. On page 201 it says that the corridor erupted into a "cacophony," what does this mean? When it says that the corridor erupted into cacophony it means that they started talking the second after the boy exited the room.
9. Why wouldn't the students want to go to the Waiting Room? Use text evidence to support your answer. I think that the students wouldn't want to go in a waiting room because maybe because they have to do things in there that they don't want to do but they are forced to do.
Wednesday, March 7th
Read Logical Conclusions and Miscalculations and Poison Apples/Poison Worms and A Surprising Suggestion
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Friday, March 9th
1. What does the simile "his eyelids felt heavy as anvils" mean? The simile means that he was very tired because when your eyelids are drooping it usually means that you are tired.
2. On page 210, Jackson stated, "You can say whatever you like when you have permission, right now no one has permission." What is he referring to? Jackson is refering to that no one can talk right now because no one has permission.
3. On page 211, Sticky could feel the "malice," what does this mean? I think the saying " Sticky could feel the malice" means that he could feel the pressure on him.
4. Why is this chapter called Logical Conclusions and Miscalculations? I think it is called that because Kate and Constance were failing on there tests and they needed to get better grades so they could become messengers quicker.
5. How does fruit fit in with the discussion of taxes, war, health, the justice system.....? I think of it like a apple being the citizens and when the government becomes bad and it's not liked anymore it makes the fruit go bad.
6. The symbol poison apples, poison worms refers to what? I think the symbol poison apples, poison worms is referring to how the mysterious benedict society thought that Martina could have poisoned them the first time that there heads were hurting.
7. Reynie looked at the literal meaning of being poisoned, was he wrong? Explain your reasoning. No, because I think that it would be possible for Martina to poison them.
8. On page 216, it states that, "Most of us will simple feel irritable and confused." Have you heard this before? Where and what were they referring to? I have never heard this before besides in the book. I think that they are referring to that a lot of them will be confused and not really understand what is going on.
9. Mr. Benedict told the children that their love for the truth will protect them, what does this mean? It means that there honesty will protect them ,which I think that they will get in trouble and then they will tell the truth and they won't get in trouble for what they did.
10. Why can Constance hear the Messenger's voice? I think that only Constance can hear the voice right now because she is more open minded then the others.
11. Explain the response the children got from the mainland on page 219. Well, they mentioned that they didn't have much time which meant they had to get a move on. It also mentioned that they had to get the info that they needed. and that they had to become what they were not ( cheaters ).
12. Why is it so important that the children become Messengers as quickly as possible? Because then they could find out more info about the messages.
13. What does the word "evasively" mean at the bottom of page 222? I think that the word evasively means anger.
14. Why couldn't Charlie explain about the special privileges? I think he couldn't explain about the special prevlidges because I think that they could have brainwashed him.
Friday, March 9th
Read Tests and Invitations and Everything as it Should Be
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Monday, March 12th
1. Why was Reynie jealous? Reynie was jealous because a different that wasn't him got to become a messenger.
2. On page 236, it says that Mr. Curtain rolled his chair almost "imperceptibly", what does this mean? I think that when it says that he rolled his chair almost imperceptibly means that he was rolling his chair almost sucpiciously.
3. "If you don't trust them, keep them close." What does this mean and why would Reynie say this statement? I kind of thinking of it like a criminal being watched by a cop, because the cop doesn't trust the criminal he has to keep him close.
4. What is a sense of "deja vu?" (page 238) Deja vu is when you have done something in the past and then in the present you do the same sort of thing and you say "talk about deja vu".
5. "Control is always the key." What is this supposed to mean? When Mr. Curtain says this he means that you have to have power and that is the key.
Monday, March 12th
Read Of Families Lost and Found and Tactical Caciupi
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Wednesday, March 14th
1. Why is this chapter called Of Families Lost and Found? This chapter was called that because Reynie was wishing he had a family because he never had one but realized that all of the friends around him were his family.
2. On page 254, it states, "What has been lost may yet be found, Have hope." What does this message from the mainland mean? I think that the message from the mainland means that even if the information that they needed was harder to find that they should still have hope.
3. Respond to Reynie's idea of what a family might be all about, "I have no experience, but well, is this what family is like? The feeling that everyone's connected, that with one piece missing the whole thing's broken?" I think that Reynie's statement basically means that as a family you are one combined whole but there is a tiny part of that whole missing which creates some mysteries between the family.
4. On page 257, it, "family is often born of blood, but it doesn't depend on blood." What does this mean? I think that it means that family is often born with luck but then they don't depend on luck all of the time.
5. What was the cliff hanger in the chapter Of Families Lost and Found? The cliffhanger in this chapter is that Reynie realizes that even though he didn't have a family that he still had his friends.
6. Why do you think that family is such an important theme that is woven in and out of almost each chapter? I think that because family is very important in life and i think that the author found it important to mention it a lot in the book.
8. Why would Mr. Curtain say that one of his biggest accomplishments would be the invention of his tidal turbines? Explain what these are and how might they be used on the island.
9. What was Kate using her spy glass/kaleidoscope for? So that they could look at Mr. Curtain's journal from far away.
10. Knowing Sticky's talents, what do you think he is being used for when it comes to the journal? I think that he is using his memory the best because he has to remember everything that he saw.
11. On page 267, the first entry is read and one part states, "There is no such thing as perfect control. I have come to understand, however, that the illusion of perfect control can amount to the same thing." What does this mean and what implications might this have on the story? I think that this means no matter how hard that you try you will never have complete control but you could convince people that you do..
12. How can you have an illusion of control? You could hypmetize them into thinking what ever you tell them.
13. Explain "brainsweeping." Brainsweeping is when you talk to a person and you confuse them so much that they belive a totally different thing is going on.
14. Why aren't the special recruits every scared? Because only a certain part of memory was brainswept.
15. What do you think the "improvement" is that they are talking about on page 270? I think that teh improvment is when Mr. Curtain will send the messages into peoples heads without needing tv and radios.
16. What do you think his message on page 272 means? I think that it is a message talking about that you should trust Mr. Curtain and follow his orders.
Wednesday, March 14th
Read Caught in the Act and The Waiting Room
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Friday, March 16th
1. Why is this chapter called, "Caught in the Act?" This chapter is called caught in the act because Sticky gets caught when he is taping the answers in morse code on his ear.
2. On page 277 it says, "precipice." What does this mean and how is it used in the sentence? A precipice a cliff with a vertical, nearly vertical, or over
hanging face. A precipice is also a situation of great peril :on the precipice of war.
3. Why were Reynie, Kate and Constance trying to climb the wall? They were trying to climb the wall because they wanted to see what the executives were doing in the gym.
4. Again, it mentions the "improvement." Any clues as to what this might be? I think that the improvment is what Mr. Curtain is planning to do with the turbines which is how he will send out the messages.
5. On page 282, the word "ominous" is used. What does this word mean and how is it used in the sentence? The word ominous means portendinge vilorharm; foreboding; threatening; inauspicious.
6. Describe Sticky as he came out of the Waiting Room. He was very shocked and it seemed that he still had to get through his head what had just happened.
7. Why wouldn't Sticky talk after he came out? I think Sticky didn't talk when he came out because he was still kindof in shock and remembering what the waiting room was like.
8. List the main characters and what they have to offer to a "team." Why might this be important to the rest of the book? One of the main characters in this book is Reynie. Reynie is the one on the team who figures out what they should do in tough situations which is helpful because the team allways gets into tough situations and needs a way to get ou of it. Stick is another main character. Sticky is helpful to the team because he is the smart one who remembers everything that the team needs to remember. Kate is the adventourous and one that goes all out and this is important because the other members on the team aren't as adventourous as them. Constance is important to the team because she is the one who has sas and is the one who talks back to someone when they are ina tough situation.
(Reynie, Constance, Kate and Sticky)
9. What was the main idea for this chapter? Give two supporting details. I think that the main idea of this chapter was how Sticky got out of the waiting room. I think that this is the main idea because the name of the chapter is The Waiting Room
Friday, March 16th
Read Punishments and Promotions and Half a Riddle
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Monday, March 19th
1. What was the dilemma that Sticky was facing with Mr. Curtain? What would you have done? I think that the dilemma is that Mr. Curtain could be kindof suspicous about the Mysterious benedict society. I would have done the same thing thjat Sticky did.
2. State Mr. Curtain's view on the idea of "control." I think that Mr. Curtain's idea of control means like taking over the world.
3. Why do you think that Sticky got off the hook for cheating and Reynie got off the hook for lying? I think they got off the hook because Mr. Curtain decided that he would make them messengers.
4, On page 304 it states that Martina's face, "shone with malevolence," what does this mean and how does that apply to this sentence? I think that the word malevolence means pride and self confidence.
5. Why would Martina be promoted to Executive? Give reasons and your thinking as to why. I think that she was promoted because Mr. Curtain knew that she didn't cheat and that it was her time to become one.
6. What does it mean when Mr. Curtain says that the "best way of dealing with those you don't trust is to keep them close." Reynie said this and now so has Mr. Curtain - what do you think this means for the both of them? I think that this means that they think alike.
7. Why did Mr. Curtain make Sticky and Reynie messengers? I think he made them messengers because he thought they had enough guts and knoledge to become one.
8. The coded message read:
With open eyes now you may find
A place you must exit to enter.
Where one ----
What do you think this message might mean? Give reasons for your thinking. I think that the message means that they will be in one place and leave it when they are entering a different place. I think this because it says that you must exit to enter.
Monday, March 19th
Read The Whisperer and Open Sesame
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Wednesday, March 21st
1. At the beginning of the chapter, Reynie has a dream. What do you think the dream means? I think that the dream Reyine had could have been predicting the future because it would seem that he would get sent to the waiting room and get in trouble because he is allways snooping around and doing something suspicous.
2. On page 314, it states that Reynie and Sticky shook hands "resolutely," what does this mean and how does it fit into the sentence? I think that the word resolutley means proudly and boldly because the way it was used in the sentence, I kind of thought it could have been replaced with proudly and boldly and still mean the same thing.
3. On page 315, Jackson refers to Sticky or George as "dimwitted," what does this mean and how does it fit into the sentence? The word dimwitted means stupid and annoying and if it was said to you it would be a insult.
4. Why couldn't the boys know the way to the Whispering Gallery? They couldn't know the way to the Whispering Gallery because Mr. Curtain probably didn't want the students to know the way and wanted to keep it a secret. I think what he is keeping from them is the room with all of the power that controls the whisperer.
5. Describe the Whispering Gallery. The whispering gallery is a empty room with 2 cusions on the floor and a wooden chair with 2 helmets attached to it in the middle.
6. On page 317, it states that the Whispering Gallery is so "austere," what does this mean? I think that the word austere means empty.
7. Again the idea of control comes up over and over, why? I think it came up again because control is such a big part of the story. I think that control is such a big part of the story because Mr. Curtain is trying to control everybpdy by mind.
8. Describe what The Whispering can do and not do. The whisperer can read your mind and hear what you are thinking. The whisperer can also ask you things and tell you things through your mind. What the whisperer can not do is
9. On page 319, when Renyie states that, "They go down easier, like candy rather than medicine." What is he talking about? Reynie is talking about how candy tastes better and it tastes better then medicine so the statement "they go down easier, like candy rather than medicine" makes sense.
10. On page 319 it refers to "inputting data," what is this? The inputting data is the data of what is going on inside the childrens minds.
11. On page 321, it states, "poison apples, poison worms," again - now what is this referring to? Why is this phrase repeated throughout the book? I think that it is refring to all of the negative things that go on on the island. I think this statement is repeated throughout the book becausethe island is full of negative things.
12. On the last page of The Whisperer" it ends with Sticky saying, "Not being wanted, not being wanted at all," what was the question? The question that the whisperer had asked him was what did he fear most.
13. Why didn't Reynie want to sit and eat with the rest of the messengers? What excuse did he give the messenger? I think that he dudn't want to sit with them because he just wanted to sit with his friends and talk about what different info that they each have. The excuse that Reynie told the other messenger was that he was very sick which must have grossed the other messenger out.
14. On page 333, when Constance says that Reynie is "on," what does this mean? I think that constance means that he is on top of things.
15. How do we know that Mr. Curtain will be done with the Messengers after "the Improvement?" We know that he will be done with the messengers after the improvment because he told Reynie himself.
16. What are the clues about the trap? The clues about the trap are that Mr. Curtain was coming down the hallway and they had no where to hide so they had to enter the room which they thought was going to be a trap.
17. How did the kids figure out the code? They flipped the piece of paper upside down and read one of the bolded words and when it was upside down the word was 4 different numbers and those 4 numbers were the code.
Wednesday, March 21st
Read Practice Makes Perfect and Know Thine Enemy
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Friday, March 23rd
1. Why is this chapter called "Practice Makes Perfect?" This chapter is called practice makes perfect because Mr. Curtain was practicing brainwashing people at the institute before he brainwashes the world.
2. Why would the government press releases be dated for the future? The press releases would are dated for the future because Mr. Curtain thinks that in the future that will eb what will happen and he is getting ready for it.
3. What does the article and page 346/347 mean? The article is what Mr. Curtain thinks will happen in the future and has the newspapers for that day allready printed.
4. Why would Mr. Curtain want to create fear in everyone? Mr. Curtain would want to put fear in everyone because then he can sooth there fears and then everyone will love him.
5. Why would Mr. Curtain want to put together an Amnesia Sanctuary? Mr. Curtain would put together a amnesia sanctuary because in the future he thinks that he will have allready brainwashed everybody so he is preparing by building a amnesia sanctuary.
6. Why is this chapter called, "Know Thine Enemy?" This chapter is called know thine enemy because of the message that Mr. Benedict sent the kids. The message meant know who your enemy's are and who they aren't. This makes sense because Milligan was on the bridge at the institute at night time and the kids saw him and the message that Mr. Benedict sent realtes to this because they didn't want them thinking that Milligan was a bad guy he was just himself in disguise.
7. What is the "memory terminal?" The memory terminal is where Mr. Curtain has the people go who have been brainwashed to like him or have had messages in there heads saying that they like him.
8. On page 353, Reynie states, "But we are too late! Much, much too late," what is he referring to? Reynie is refering to that they didn't find the info they needed fast enough so he is saying "But we are too late! Much, much too late,".
9. Who was the "recruiter" staring up at the window at night? The person who was staring at the team's window wasn't actually a recruiter, he was Milligan.
10. Why would he send the message to hurry? Mr. Benedict would send a message to hurry because he knew that the improvment was close and they needed to find out more info about it.
11. Why was Milligan on the island? Milligan was on the island to tell the kids that Mr. Benedict wanted them to get off of the island and go somewhere safe.
12. Why wouldn't the kids follow Milligan? The kids wouldn't follow Milligan because they felt that there job wasn't complete yet and that they had to save the helpers and brainwashed people.
13. What was the message that Mr. Benedict sent with Milligan to give to the kids? The messege was " Every single one of you is essential to the succes of the team -- that now more than ever, you must rely upon one another in all things".
Friday, March 23rd
Read A Chess Lesson and The Mouse in the Culvert
Answer the following questions and make sure that you have part of each question into each answer.
Due Monday, March 26th
1. What is Reynie's plan that he refers to on page 364? Reynie's plan was to disable the whisperer.
2. Why was Reynie so afraid of "betraying?" Reynie is afraid of betraying because if he lost his friends he wouldn't have anybody to be there for him and his friends are his family.
3. Why was Reynie doubting himself? Reynie was doubting himself because he didn't think he was good enough to be the leader for the mysterious Benedict society because he couldn't think of what to do next
4. Why was Reynie sending Mr. Benedict a message? He was sending Mr. Benedict a message because he didn't know what to do next and he wanted some advice.
5. What was the message that Mr. Benedict sent back? The message that Mr. Benedict sent was " remember the white knight".
6. What did the message mean? The message was refering to the tests before the institute when it asked if the position on the chess board was possible and Reynie said yes because the knight could have moved out and then back in. So when Mr. Benedict sent the message he was saying that u should back track and start over just like the knight did in the chess game.
7. How did Kate get into the elevator? Kate got into the elevator by slingshooting a marble attracting Jackson's attention so she could run to the elevator and get in.
8. Why didn't she want to push any of the buttons in the elevator? Kate didn't want to push any buttons in the elevator because if she did the elevator would move and then Jackson would know she was there.
9. How does Mr. Curtain deal with the subject of fear? He says that the whisperer doesn't cure a person's fear it just puts them away and hides them for a while.
10. What is Martina's job? Martina's job is to work in the room with hair dryers.
11. How did Mr. Curtain make sure no one was in the culvert? He dumped some hot water down the drain.
12. What did Kate see in the water that had deceived her? What Kate saw in the water was a rock that looked like a shark fin which decived her because she was wrong and she didn't have to worry.